Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), the world’s second-largest carrier, received 22,000 applications for about 300 flight attendant jobs in the first week after posting the positions outside the company.

The applications arrived at a rate of two per minute, Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson told workers in a weekly recorded message. Applicants will be interviewed in January and those hired will begin flying in June, for the peak travel season.

“We’re hunting for foreign-language speakers as we continue to expand to all points around the globe,” Anderson said. “We are experiencing a phenomenal response to the job posting.”

Delta’s applicant rush reflects the demand for jobs amid a 7.9 percent U.S. unemployment rate and the interest in an industry where flight privileges are a prized employee benefit. The Atlanta-based carrier received 100,000 applications for 1,000 jobs when it last hired flight attendants in October 2010.

While Anderson put the number of positions in the latest round of hiring at about 300, Betsy Talton, a spokeswoman, said it could reach 400. As many as 30 percent will speak languages including Japanese, Hindi, Mandarin and Portuguese, she said.

Sobering Stats

The latest jobs reports shows there are over 12 million people unemployed, the average duration of unemployment is over 40 weeks, and over 40% of the unemployed have been unemployed for over 27 weeks.

Another 8 million people want full-time jobs but only have a part-time jobs. And finally, unemployment stats do not capture millions more who are so discouraged they stopped looking for jobs.

Best wishes to everyone who wants a job but does not have one. Hoping 2013 brings you a much happier year.